At the Buzzer: R1G1 — Bucks 109, Pacers 94
At the Buzzer: R1G1 — Bucks 109, Pacers 94
The Indiana Pacers trailed by 30 in the first half, were held to their lowest total of the season and gave up a 35-point first half to Damian Lillard in a Game 1 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Pacers received a tough “welcome to the postseason” moment. They fell behind by 30 points in the first half and Damian Lillard erupted for one of those special playoff performances. His best individual postseason half ever, in fact.
Before the game, head coach Rick Carlisle emphasized the need for them to be physical at the point-of-attack defensively. “Our thing has to got to be persistence,” he said.
Asked about their 4-1 head-to-head record in the regular season, he added “this is a new starting point.”
Pacers started the usual five: Haliburton, Nembhard, Nesmith, Siakam, Turner.
Bucks went with Lillard, Beverley, Middleton, Portis, Lopez.
The game officials were Zach Zarba, Tyler Ford, Marat Kogut and Derrick Collins (alternate).
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🏀How it happened: The Pacers’ lack of playoff experience showed. They looked uncomfortable, overexcited, hurried and struggled to settle in over the first 24 minutes. They were scrambling and 11 players saw the floor in the first half, which is highly unusual in a playoff game. They trailed by nine points after 1 and by 27 points at the break. Lillard was spectacular, which was necessary with Giannis Antetokounmpo sidelined with a left calf strain. He scored 35 first-half points and then his teammates stepped up in the second. The Pacers, held to a season-low 94 points, got to within 12 points at the end of the third quarter, but struggled offensively for the duration.